PetaPixel

In a world where viral photo sharing accounts (such as HistoryInPics) are popping up at an insane pace, it’s a necessity that there be counterparts that do their best to verify, fact-check, and credit the images these accounts share.

This increasingly necessary job has recently been taken over by a small group of accounts dedicated to doing exactly that: verifying the legitimacy of the images being shared, and making sure the original creator of the images is being properly credited.

Profiled by Poynter, one account in particular, @PicPedant, was brought to life after creator Paulo Ordoveza read a story on BuzzFeed titled “2014 Is The Year of The Viral Debunk”.

Using Google Reverse Image Search in combination with his ability to spot Photoshopped fakes, Ordoveza does his best to track down the original source of viral photographs and share what the photo sharing accounts often leave out.

As to why Ordoveza is making an effort to properly debunk and attribute credit to these images, Poynter made note of a recent discussion he had with someone on Twitter:

The other accounts mentioned by Poynter include @FakeAstropix, @CreditsInPics, and @Hoaxoffame, all of which are trying to achieve the same goal of debunking and/or properly crediting at least a few of the unfathomable number of images shared online each day.

To read the full write-up, head on over on Poynter. And don’t forget to go give some of these accounts a follow to support their cause.